Outfit pic - Dress from Karen Walker Hi There range
Interior pic - courtesy of MadeByGirl
So orange and navy would have worked fine as a title but I wanted to be a bit fancier and went for the more pretentious "tangerine and sapphire" title option instead. Either way you'll have to agree that its an intensely bold combo.
I bought this cute dress for a friends wedding from my favorite fashion designer Karen Walker and also got to wear to an awards ceremony the following week - efficient cost per wear!
Vintage sapphire ring from my mother
Are you brave enough to go for navy walls? Are you brave enough to try this combo at all? I will gladly try out the fashion option but with interiors I must admit it looks beautiful but I'm a bit intimidated by this bold combo. Safer option would be to go for some loud accessories.
As bold as this combo gets! Only for the brave. Image courtesy of Rue
Recycled grain sack chair, seatbelt cushion - pic from livingetc.com, doily dress from etsy.com
I'm a creative soul and so I thought I would celebrate a skill that is dear to my heart. Some call it upcycling others call it recycling, DIY even and if you were a New Zealander you'd call it good old Kiwi ingenuity.
To turn something that had a life served as something else, be it a seatbelt or a coffee sack or a doily - and then transform it into something that is not only useable but stylish, functional and flattering for the home or for you is a feat to be commended.
Upcycled summer house made from old windows - image from retromania.co.nz
From a fashion perspective - the term that best describes this type of creative experimentation is upcycling.
The reason behind this can be to give something old a modern touch, to save some moolah or to be eco-friendly and use what you already have.
Being able to recreate the wheel in the fashion sense gives you creative license to make something uber original and flattering to your shape because you are manipulating it to your style and tastes.
Recreating a Prada trend with spray paint and black pumps - image from psimadethis.com
As you can see creativity knows no bounds and I admire the skill and foresight that goes into making something ordinary extraordinary.
I wouldn't be me if I didn't give you a couple of vid tutorials to have a go at at home, one requires long hair and some serious 'mirror time' and the other just requires a rainy day - like it is here today!
Try this bow bun, it's pretty cool and whatsmore Mr Kate is really fun to watch!
Have a good week everyone and next time you're looking at those naff curtains, or that old hideous scarf in your wardrobe think outside the square - it might just need some creative juices to be fabulous once more.
When I think Spanish influence for the home what instantly comes to mind are arches, wrought iron and beautifully detailed tiles. Then for fashion I think lace, fans, peineta (Spanish comb), flowers and frilly layers. I had a strong Spanish influence in my wedding dress attire above, because I wanted to acknowledge my husband's heritage (half Spanish, from Chile) and I also thought these accessories were simply stunning. The peineta and fan were gifts from my Mother-in-law brought from Spain and I had the Spanish lace veil or mantilla made here in New Zealand.
Many people think my comb is a Māori heru, and you'll see why from the below examples. From New Zealand to China to Spain, all of these traditional combs are quite similar.
From left to right, Māori Bone Heru from New Zealand, Chinese Ivory comb, and far right a Spanish peineta traditionally made from tortiseshell but nowadays made from imitation mother of pearl. Images courtesy of NZ Museums, barbaraanneshaircombblog.com and wikipedia.org
Now for some Spanish style wedding inspiration....
This is one of my favourite photos from our wedding day, quite romantic I thought
Finally an interesting story about my dress, so not exactly Spanish influenced, more Fantastic Four influenced (I know a bit random). The true story is that Erena told me she had a dream that I got married in the dress that Jessica Alba wore in the movie Fantastic Four 2. So of course I Googled it, found the below pic, LOVED IT, and that's exactly what I took to the dress maker to recreate. So I wouldn't say that super hero movies, weddings and Spanish style go together, but in this case it worked for me.
Jessica Alba in Fantastic Four 2. Image courtesy of pixelbomb.com.
The picture I gave to my dressmaker
Tribal interior pic from stylebeat.blogspot.com. Mere wears Nine West boots, tribal print leggings by Supre, yellow sheer top by Backdoor and tribal necklace
Aztec, bohemian, ethnic you name it, if the pattern is bright and bold and punchy with a strong sense of form and symmetry then it's bound to have a tribal influence. Whether its the sight of these crazy but cool leggings or this bold feature wall print, these patterns awaken the Aztec in me and suddenly I feel the need to get up and dance....ok ok or perhaps you could just watch Miss B demonstrate tribal fierceness in this amazeballs vid, yep that's right cue Beyonce... (at 2min 50 to be precise)
Beyonce in Deja Vu - turn it up!
Tribal influences are everywhere. Just check out these
As you can probably tell I am a black and white fiend, but tribal is not merely just black and white, oh no no, in the home tribal prints can be bright bright bright!
Can you hear the sound of tribal drums yet? Perhaps not, nonetheless this little tiki-tour into tribal prints for the home and fashion has really inspired me to inject some more vibrancy and colour into my style choices. I've always loved tribal prints so expect a follow-up blog about my fave tribal fashionistas Sass & Bide in the next couple of weeks.
If the tribal waters are just luke warm for you, how about starting off by making a itty bitty statement. Check out this vid - ooh la la!
